Friday, February 24, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Look Ma, IT has a winner, if imperfect
Claassen & Co. mostly deliver the goods in 'Dancing'
Look Ma, IT has a winner, if imperfect
Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, February 12, 2012
Two weddings and a funeral serve as the backdrop for Invisible Theatre's latest, the world premiere of Janet Neipris' "Look Ma We're Dancing."
So does some mighty intense sibling rivalry in this production directed by Gail Fitzhugh.
And no one can do intense quite as well as Susan Claassen, IT's artistic director and one of the two sisters in this comedy.
Claassen's Vi has a strong wit, impeccable timing and a New York City sophistication.
She brings all that to Montana to attend her sister Franny's wedding (Franny is nicely portrayed by Susan Kovitz). Trouble is, she and Franny haven't spoken in a year, when something went terribly wrong at their mother's funeral. Franny isn't as interesting as Vi; nevertheless, Kovitz holds her own against Claassen - which isn't easy to do as Claassen is a force to be reckoned with on stage.
...
The crew received applause after it made the remarkable transition with the moving of a few walls and replacing of a few pictures during intermission. Blair and Claassen deserve applause, too, for their innovative and much-more-than-serviceable set design.
TIM FULLER / INVISIBLE THEATRE
Susan Claassen and James Blair
LOOK MA WE'RE DANCING
LOOK MA WE'RE DANCING:
GENTLE REMINDERS FILL "LOOK MA WE'RE DANCING"
By Chuck Graham
TucsonStage.com
Family members may not be the world's most reliable support group, but we always have to remember: home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in.
Playwright Janet Neipris and the players at Invisible Theatre celebrate such enduring truths in the world premiere production of her light comedy with a heart, "Look Ma We're Dancing" directed by Gail Fitzhugh.
Susan Claassen is full of feisty confusion as Vi, the intellectual sister of Franny (Susan Kovitz) the sociable sister – the one mom always liked best, at least in Vi's opinion.
Read the entire review here: LOOK MA WE'RE DANCING
Saturday, February 11, 2012
'Look Ma, We’re Dancing' is gentle Jewish-centric comedy | The Invisible Theatre:
The Invisible Theatre
'Look Ma, We’re Dancing' is gentle Jewish-centric comedy
Play is a funny, acerbic exploration of sibling rivalry
Feb 9, 2012
Dave Irwin
TucsonSentinel.com
The Invisible Theatre’s latest play, “Look Ma, We’re Dancing,” is a gently acerbic comedy of sibling rivalry. The protagonists are two grown-up hyper-competitive New York Jewish-American princesses. We watch as they try to reconnect to their individual lives and their sisterhood following the death of their mother — the glue that had held their family together.
Tim Fuller/Invisible Theatre
From left, Burney Starks, Susan Kovitz, Susan Claassen and James Blair star in The Invisible Theatre's production of 'Look Ma, We're Dancing.
Vi, played note-perfect and knowingly by IT artistic director Susan Claassen, arrives in Montana to surprise her sister, Franny, played by Susan Kovitz, before Franny’s upcoming wedding…
Playwright Janet Neipris provides a funny, well-written slice of life that feels all too true…
Gail Fitzhugh’s stage direction was clear and takes full advantage of Claassen’s stage-savvy and mugging skills. Also notable is the efficient and effective set design by Claassen and Blair, who is also IT’s associate artistic director. The slick transition of the small IT stage from the Missoula set to the New York set with just a few hinged panels actually earned a round of applause during intermission from the opening-night audience.
Read the entire review here: 'Look Ma, We’re Dancing' is gentle Jewish-centric comedy | The Invisible Theatre:
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Sibling rivalry lives in 'Dancing':
Sisters vie for late mom's attention at Invisible Theatre premieres comedy
Sibling rivalry lives in 'Dancing'
| Posted: Thursday, February 2, 2012Death doesn't always kill the need for mom's approval.
In "Look Ma We're Dancing," two adult sisters fight over their dead mother's affection.
Funny moments, sibling rivalry at its finest and family issues take center stage in the Janet Neipris play, which has its world premiere at Invisible Theatre Tuesday.
"The humor is in the characters, and then it has moments that are poignant where it moves the audience. I love that combination," said playwright Neipris, chairwoman of the Dramatic Writing Department at the Tisch School for the Arts at New York University.
IT collaborated with Neipris for about two years on "Look Ma We're Dancing." The company has been producing Neipris' work since she was straight out of graduate school.
Her last play at IT was "Natives" in 2008.
"Look Ma ..." "is an intimate play about two sisters with universal themes," said Susan Claassen, IT's managing artistic director who also has a lead role in the play. These themes include family, sisters pulling apart and coming together and unconditional love.
TIM FULLER / INVISIBLE THEATRE
Sisters so close, it's hard to tear them apart: Burney Starks, left, Susan Kovitz, Susan Claassen and James Blair in "Look Ma We're Dancing."
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/sibling-rivalry-lives-in-dancing/article_0dce30d3-8523-535e-a0d7-b642946aa95b.html#ixzz1lGn95wvR
Friday, January 13, 2012
Amos' 'Comet' hits Invisible Theatre:
| Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012
| Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012
This time around, Tucsonans can see Hollywood star and philanthropist John Amos perform his sometimes comical, sometimes heartbreaking one-man show, "Halley's Comet."
Amos, 72, has been taking "Halley's Comet" to theaters across the United States and abroad for nearly two decades.
This is his first Tucson performance, courtesy of Invisible Theatre.
The story is that of an 86-year-old man who returns to the same spot where he first watched Halley's Comet 75 years earlier, perched on his father's shoulders.
The two-hour play takes the audience from the turn of the century to modern times, as "Old Man" remembers and relives parts of his life, including his childhood dreams, the advent of fast food, the civil rights era and battle scenes in the Pacific.
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/amos-comet-hits-invisible-theatre/article_70bfb634-f7fd-5426-aaa3-34b2a74cc0e0.html#ixzz1jMMizWjg
IF YOU GO
• What: Halley's Comet, starring John Amos.
• Presented by: Invisible Theatre.
• When: 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: The Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd.
• Cost: $42.
• Reservations/information: 882-9721 or www.invisibletheatre.com
• What: K.C. Amos and John Amos discuss K.C. Amos' Montford Point Marines documentary, "Their Stories, Their Voices."
• When: 9:45 a.m. Friday.
• Where: Tucson High Magnet School, 400 N. Second Ave.
• Cost: Free.
• Reservations/information: Seating is limited. Call 882-9721 for reservations.
You might remember him as the adult-aged Kunta Kinte in the television mini-series, "Roots," or perhaps playing James Evans on the hit sitcom, "Good Times."
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
UNIQUELY DIFFERENT "CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION"
CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION:
UNIQUELY DIFFERENT "CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION"
By Chuck Graham, Tucsonstage.com
The mystery of communication is being explored quite inventively with Invisible Theatre's production of "Circle Mirror Transformation" by Annie Baker, directed here by Betsy Kruse Craig. The play won an Obie in 2010 for Best New American Play.
To some extent, to fully enjoy "Circle Mirror Transformation" you have to be ready for something a little different.
Be assured, however, the effort will be well worth it, because this play will also stick in your head on the way home. Each of us could be asking "How much different would my life be today if I had just spoken out that one time, so long ago?"
The cast is excellent and well balanced. It's always fun to see McKasson back on stage, her eyes twinkling bright as ever. Henriksen, a veteran Los Angeles actor, makes an engaging Tucson debut. Petty, just starting her career upon the stage, keeps getting better and better. Long-time acting friends Hill and Wees are always solid professionals.
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